Tag: Smart speaker

Apple’s HomePod ($349.00 at Apple) entered the smart speaker space behind Amazon‘s Alexa speakers and the Google Home ($129.00 at Dell Home), lagging behind in both features and integrations. But that’s not the biggest problem people are having with the speaker so far. It has nothing to do with audio quality or that it only works with Apple’s audio services or iOS. Instead, the issue is what the speaker is doing to wooden tables. In what some are calling #staingate, the silicone pad on the base of the HomePod is creating white, ringlike stains on…

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that’s taken over our lives. Wait, has that stool been oiled? Andrew Hoyle/CNET Where should you put your HomePod? Should you give the smart speaker pride of place on a mantelpiece, right next to your favorite sports star’s bobblehead? Or should you, perhaps, put in on its own wooden pedestal, there to be admired by visitors? Apple would like you to know that you should think twice about putting it on an oiled wooden surface. You see, Wirecutter observed that the HomePod…

One of the great things about both the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa voice-assistant platforms is that they’re both very open. It’s easy for third-party companies to make compatible smart home devices that work with both of them. In fact, companies can also make their own smart speakers to compete directly with those manufactured by Google and Amazon. One of the latest companies to take up the Google Assistant smart speaker mantle is JBL, which released a new line of voice-enabled speakers in late 2017 under its new Link sub-brand.…

Without any sort of dedicated app or interface on the HomePod itself, using it can be a bit puzzling at times. Now Playing: Watch this: Unboxing Apple’s new HomePod 2:30 But never fear, we have been using the HomePod for a few days now and continue to figure out tips and tricks for the robust speaker. Here are six of them we’ve discovered so far. Home app is where it’s at Any and all settings for the HomePod ($349.00 at Apple) are currently housed in the Home app. In fact,…

Yes, it took an actual hacksaw for the iFixit team to get into Apple’s HomePod smart speaker. iFixit You know something is durable when it takes a hacksaw for the iFixit team to tear it down. Such was the case for the dissection of Apple’s newly released HomePod, a voice-activated wireless speaker and a whole new product category for the gadget giant. iFixit found all sorts of interesting little tidbits inside, once it finally got in: tweeters and conductive screw posts and a beefy subwoofer, oh my! You can click…

Are you guys ready for the first Apple Byte giveaway of the year? We are kicking things off with the Apple HomePod, the first smart speaker from Apple. It finally went on sale after a tumultuous prologue that started back in 2016. With an 8.0 overall rating, the bottom line of our review says “Apple’s HomePod won’t slay Amazon Alexa out of the gate. But if you’re an iPhone user who prizes sound quality above all, you should seriously consider this speaker.” Now Playing: Watch this: The Apple HomePod reviews…

Amazon Echo owners looking for their own kitchen nightmare can now receive a no-holds-barred, foul-mouthed bashing from Gordon Ramsay. The sweary celebrity chef is now included in all Echo smart speakers. To enable the feature, simply say “Alexa, enable Gordon Ramsay”. Once that’s done, Echo owners can present dishes to their Amazon-branded smart speaker to gauge Ramsay’s opinion on their cooking. And you’d better hope he’s in a good mood. “Alexa, what does Gordan Ramsay think of this dish?” is what you’ll need to say to hear the foul-mouthed television…

Ex-Nest CEO Tony Fadell: “Nest was acquired by Google for a specific reason. I pitched it as ‘We are the senses and you are the brain.’” James Martin/CNET Google’s announcement this week that it’s bringing Nest back under its wing has some former employees of the smart-thermostat maker saying the company never should’ve been spun off in the first place. Tony Fadell, co-founder and ex-CEO of Nest, said both companies’ efforts in connected gadgets were hurt when Google made Nest a separate business less than two years after acquiring it.…

Ex-Nest CEO Tony Fadell: “Nest was acquired by Google for a specific reason. I pitched it as ‘We are the senses and you are the brain.’” James Martin/CNET Google’s announcement this week that it’s bringing Nest back under its wing has some former employees of the smart-thermostat maker saying the company never should’ve been spun off in the first place. Tony Fadell, co-founder and ex-CEO of Nest, said both companies’ efforts in connected gadgets were hurt when Google made Nest a separate business less than two years after acquiring it.…

The war for your digital home is waging. Apple has finally followed Amazon, Google and Microsoft by launching a smart speaker with a voice-controlled artificial intelligence assistant. Yet even though the “HomePod” is another technological marvel, there’s a chance Apple is already losing the battle. The competition isn’t just through the sound quality of the speaker – but the other things that users can do with it. The most common requests to AI personal assistants such as Apple’s Siri are reportedly to play music, read the weather forecast and set…